Jet snow clearing device

ABSTRACT

A jet snow clearing device including a housing unit having an intake, a hot air jet nozzle and a combustion chamber, a high-pressure blower unit including a drive motor, a transmission shaft and an axial fan, a fuel injection unit including a fuel inlet pipe connected to the combustion chamber and at least one nozzle connected to the fuel inlet pipe, and an ignition unit including an igniter connected to the housing unit and positioned in the combustion chamber is provided.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to an snow clearing device, and more particularly to a jet snow clearing device, which is able to eject high-pressure hot air in a fixed direction to melt and clear up snow.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is well known that frigid-zone countries often suffer from heavy snowfalls in the winter. Snow always severely accumulates on buildings, roofs, yards, roadways, railways, runways, etc. to affect peoples' daily activities, especially after a snowstorm. For example, after a snowfall, the roadways are often iced over. Under such circumstance, the vehicles are very likely to skid off the roadways. Moreover, in the case that too much snow accumulates on the buildings and roofs, the buildings and roofs will be overloaded with heavy snow. This will cause inconvenience or even a threat to resident safety. In the frigid-zone countries, the snow is generally removed with labor or machines. The most often seen measure for removing the snow is to use snow shovels to manually shovel off the snow. In some other cases, snowplows are used to help in clearing up the snow. However, with the conventional snow shovels, snowplows and deicing tools, the snow is simply moved aside from its original position to, for example, two sides of a roadway or a selected site without melting. Eventually, the snow will over-accumulate as a heavy burden to cause later problems.

It is therefore tried by the applicant to provide a jet snow clearing device to obviate the shortcomings existing in the conventional snow shovels, snowplows and deicing tools. The jet snow clearing device is able to eject high-pressure hot air to melt outdoor snow. The melted snow water then flows to a lower position and is drained to a gutter or a drainer. Accordingly, the outdoor snow can be conveniently and quickly cleared up without accumulating.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a jet snow clearing device including a housing unit, a high-pressure blower unit, a fuel injection unit and an ignition unit. The jet snow clearing device is able to eject high-pressure hot air to melt and clear up outdoor snow. Accordingly, the outdoor snow can be conveniently and quickly cleared up without accumulating.

To achieve the above and other objects, the jet snow clearing device of the present invention includes: a housing unit, which is a barrel-shaped structure, the housing unit having a rear end provided with an intake and a front end provided with a hot air jet nozzle, the housing unit further having a ceramic combustion chamber positioned between the intake and the hot air jet nozzle in communication with the intake and the hot air jet nozzle; a high-pressure blower unit including a drive motor connected to the housing unit, a transmission shaft connected to the drive motor and an axial or centrifugal fan coupled with the transmission shaft, the fan serving to suck in air from the intake and compress the air into the combustion chamber; a fuel injection unit including a fuel inlet pipe connected to the combustion chamber and one or more nozzles connected to the fuel inlet pipe, the nozzles extending into the combustion chamber; and an ignition unit including an igniter connected to the housing unit and positioned in the combustion chamber.

In the above jet snow clearing device, the fuel injection unit serves to directly atomize a fuel, such as diesel fuel, gasoline, kerosene or gas, and inject the atomized fuel into the combustion chamber of the housing unit. The atomized fuel is then ignited by means of the igniter of the ignition unit. At the same time, the drive motor of the high-pressure blower unit is turned on to drive the fan. The fan operates at high speed to suck in cold air from the intake and compress the cold air into the combustion chamber to mix with the burning fuel into high-pressure hot air. The high-pressure hot air is ejected from the hot air jet nozzle of the housing unit to melt and clear up outdoor snow. Accordingly, the outdoor snow can be conveniently and quickly cleared up without accumulating.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a sectional assembled view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a view showing the application of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please refer to FIG. 1. According to a preferred embodiment, the jet snow clearing device of the present invention is modularized, including a housing unit 1, a high-pressure blower unit 2, a fuel injection unit 3 and an ignition unit 4.

The housing unit 1 is a hollow barrel-shaped structure. The housing 1 unit has a rear end provided with an intake 11 and a front end provided with a hot air jet nozzle 12. The hot air jet nozzle 12 can be a conical nozzle for enhancing ejection pressure and range. The housing unit 1 further has a ceramic combustion chamber 13 positioned between the intake 11 and the hot air jet nozzle 12 in communication with the intake 11 and the hot air jet nozzle 12.

The high-pressure blower unit 2 includes a drive motor 21 connected to the housing unit 1, a transmission shaft 22 connected to the drive motor 21 and an axial or centrifugal fan 23 coupled with the transmission shaft 22. The fan 23 serves to suck in cold air from the intake 11 of the housing unit 1 and compress the cold air into the ceramic combustion chamber 13 for ejecting high-pressure hot air from the hot air jet nozzle 12. Preferably, the drive motor 21 is connected to a center of the rear end of the housing unit 1 with the transmission shaft 22 extending into a center of the intake 11. Preferably, the transmission shaft 22 rotatably extends into the combustion chamber 13 of the housing unit 1. A first end of the transmission shaft 22 is connected to the drive motor 21, while a second end of the transmission shaft 22 is connected to a center of the combustion chamber 13 in adjacency to the hot air jet nozzle 12. Two bearings 25 are respectively coupled with the first and second ends of the transmission shaft 22. The axial or centrifugal fan 23 is mounted on the transmission shaft 22 and positioned in the intake 11 of the housing unit 1. Another axial or centrifugal fan 24 is mounted on the transmission shaft 22 and positioned in the hot air jet nozzle 12 of the housing unit 1.

The fuel injection unit 3 includes a fuel inlet pipe 31 connected to the combustion chamber 13 and one or more nozzles 32 connected to the fuel inlet pipe 31. The nozzles 32 extend into the combustion chamber 13 for atomizing a fuel, such as diesel fuel, gasoline, kerosene or gas, and injecting the fuel into the combustion chamber 13. Preferably, the fuel inlet pipe 31 is arranged in the combustion chamber 13 in the form of a loop pipe 33. The nozzles 32 are connected to the loop pipe 33.

The ignition unit 4 includes an igniter 41 and a gas pipe 42. The igniter 41 is connected to the housing unit 1 and positioned in the ceramic combustion chamber 13. Preferably, the igniter 41 is an electronic igniter. A first end of the gas pipe 42 extends into the combustion chamber 13 and is connected to one side of the igniter 41. A second end of the gas pipe 42 is connected to a portable fuel tank 6.

Referring to FIG. 2, the housing unit 1 of the present invention is connected to and mounted in a handheld device 5. The drive motor 21 of the high-pressure blower unit 2, the fuel inlet pipe 32 of the fuel injection unit 3 and the gas pipe 42 of the ignition unit 4 are connected to the portable fuel tank 6.

The handheld device 5 is a gun-like body for a user to safely manually hold the jet snow clearing device of the present invention. The gun-like body is enclosed in a heat insulation material 51. A muffler 52 and a heat dissipation unit 53 are disposed at a muzzle of the gun-like body. An ignition switch 55, a fuel valve control switch 56 and a general switch 57 are arranged on a grip 54 of the gun-like body. The heat insulation material 51 is able to prevent high heat from being transferred to the surface of the gun-like body. The muffler 52 serves to reduce the noise caused by ejection of the high-pressure hot air. The heat dissipation unit 53 is used to dissipate the high heat from the muzzle so as to avoid any danger caused by overheating. The ignition switch 55 is used to control turning on/off of the igniter 41 of the ignition unit 4. The fuel valve control switch 56 is used to control opening/closing of the fuel inlet pipe 31 of the fuel injection unit 3 and adjust the amount of the fuel such as diesel fuel, gasoline, kerosene or gas that enters the fuel inlet pipe 31 of the fuel injection unit 3. The general switch 57 serves as a general control switch for controlling the fuel lines and circuits of the respective units of the present invention and providing a security function.

The portable fuel tank 6 preferably includes a fuel tank main body 61, a controller 62, a power supply unit 63 and a shoulder strap 64. The fuel inlet pipe 31 and the gas pipe 42 are connected to the fuel tank main body 61. Preferably, the fuel tank main body 61 is connected to a high-pressure fuel supply pump and the fuel inlet pipe 31 and the gas pipe 42 are connected to the high-pressure fuel supply pump. The controller 62 is electrically connected to the fuel supply pump and the power supply unit 63. The power supply unit 63 is connected to the aforesaid igniter 41 and drive motor 21 for supplying necessary power thereto. The shoulder strap 64 enables a user to carry the portable fuel tank 6 on his/her shoulder in operation.

In practice, a user can carry the portable fuel tank 6 on his/her shoulder by means of the shoulder strap 64 and manually hold the grip 54 of the handheld device 5 to clear up the accumulating snow outdoors. Referring to FIG. 1, when a user turns on the jet snow clearing device of the present invention, the igniter 41 of the ignition unit 4 is first controlled to ignite the fuel gas of the gas pipe 42 to form a combustion source in the combustion chamber 13. Then the fuel inlet pipe 31 of the fuel injection unit 3 is controlled to get the fuel such as diesel fuel, gasoline, kerosene or gas from the portable fuel tank 6 and transfer the fuel to the nozzles 32. The nozzles 32 atomize the fuel and inject the atomized fuel into the combustion chamber 13 of the housing unit 1. The atomized fuel will be ignited by the combustion source at an end of the gas pipe 42. At the same time, the drive motor 21 of the high-pressure blower unit 2 is turned on to drive the axial or centrifugal fans 23, 24 for sucking in external cold air from the intake 11. The cold air is compressed into the combustion chamber 13 to mix with the burning fuel into high-pressure hot air, which is ejected from the hot air jet nozzle 12 of the housing unit 1. The user can point the muzzle of the handheld device 5 at a certain object to eject the high-pressure hot air from the muzzle in a fixed direction for melting and clearing up the outdoor snow. Accordingly, the outdoor snow can be conveniently and quickly cleared up without accumulating.

In practical use of the jet snow clearing device of the present invention, the combustion reaction is controllable by means of setting flow rate of the high-pressure fuel supply pump. The intensity of the combustion reaction directly affects rotational speed of the blades, the ejection distance, and the range and temperature of the high-pressure hot air. For example, when the rotational speed is 30,000˜33,000 RPM, the range is about over 3 meters and the discharge temperature of the high-pressure hot air is about 500° C. When the rotational speed is 60,000˜70,000 RPM, the range is about over 4 meters. When the rotational speed is 90,000˜100,000 RPM, the range is up to over 5 meters. Therefore, the jet snow clearing device of the present invention can be used to clear up the snow accumulating on the yard, the roof of a building, a road, etc. and reduce the pressure of the accumulating snow. Moreover, the jet snow clearing device of the present invention can melt the snow to drain the melted snow water to a gutter or a drainer. In this case, the problem of snow accumulation in the conventional snow plowing operation can be overcome.

In conclusion, the jet snow clearing device of the present invention is composed of the housing unit 1, the high-pressure blower unit 2, the fuel injection unit 3 and the ignition unit 4 and is able to eject high-pressure hot air to melt and clear up the outdoor snow. Accordingly, the outdoor snow can be conveniently and quickly cleared up without accumulating.

The above embodiment only used to illustrate the present invention, not intended to limit the scope thereof. It is understood that many changes and modification of the above embodiments can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention is limited only by the appended claims. 

1. A jet snow clearing device comprising: a housing unit, which is a barrel-shaped structure, the housing unit having a rear end provided with an intake and a front end provided with a hot air jet nozzle, the housing unit further having a ceramic combustion chamber positioned between the intake and the hot air jet nozzle in communication with the intake and the hot air jet nozzle; a high-pressure blower unit including a drive motor connected to the housing unit, a transmission shaft connected to the drive motor and an axial or centrifugal fan coupled with the transmission shaft, the fan serving to suck in air from the intake and compress the air into the combustion chamber; a fuel injection unit including a fuel inlet pipe connected to the combustion chamber, wherein the fuel inlet pipe forms a loop pipe within the ceramic combustion chamber, and a plurality of nozzles connected to the loop pipe, the plurality of nozzles extending into the combustion chamber; and an ignition unit including an igniter connected to the housing unit and positioned in the combustion chamber.
 2. The jet snow clearing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the drive motor of the high-pressure blower unit is connected to a center of the rear end of the housing unit with the transmission shaft extending into a center of the intake.
 3. The jet snow clearing device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the transmission shaft rotatably extends into the combustion chamber of the housing unit, a first end of the transmission shaft being connected to the drive motor, while a second end of the transmission shaft being connected to a center of the combustion chamber in adjacency to the hot air jet nozzle.
 4. The jet snow clearing device as claimed in claim 3, wherein two precision ceramic bearings are respectively coupled with the first and second ends of the transmission shaft.
 5. The jet snow clearing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the axial or centrifugal fan is mounted on the transmission shaft and positioned in the intake, the high-pressure blower unit further including another axial or centrifugal fan, which is mounted on the transmission shaft and positioned in the hot air jet nozzle.
 6. The jet snow clearing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ignition unit further includes a gas pipe, a first end of the gas pipe extending into the combustion chamber and being connected to the igniter, a second end of the gas pipe is being connected to a portable fuel tank.
 7. The jet snow clearing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ignition unit further includes a gas pipe, the housing unit being connected to and mounted in a handheld device, the fuel inlet pipe of the fuel injection unit being connected to a portable fuel tank.
 8. The jet snow clearing device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the handheld device is a gun-like body, the gun-like body being enclosed in a heat insulation material, a muffler and a heat dissipation unit being disposed at a muzzle of the gun-like body, an ignition switch, a fuel valve control switch and a general switch being arranged on a grip of the gun-like body.
 9. The jet snow clearing device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the portable fuel tank includes a fuel tank main body, a controller and a power supply unit, the fuel inlet pipe and the gas pipe being connected to the fuel tank main body, the power supply unit being connected to the igniter and the drive motor.
 10. The jet snow clearing device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the portable fuel tank includes a fuel tank main body, a controller and a power supply unit, the fuel inlet pipe and the gas pipe being connected to the fuel tank main body, the power supply unit being connected to the igniter and the drive motor.
 11. The jet snow clearing device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the fuel tank main body is configured to connect to a high-pressure fuel supply pump and the fuel inlet pipe and the gas pipe are configured to connect to the high-pressure fuel supply pump.
 12. The jet snow clearing device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the fuel tank main body is configured to connect to a high-pressure fuel supply pump and the fuel inlet pipe and the gas pipe are configured to connect to the high-pressure fuel supply pump.
 13. The jet snow clearing device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the portable fuel tank has the form of a three-wheel cart.
 14. The jet snow clearing device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the portable fuel tank has the form of a three-wheel cart. 